R.I.P. IWATA-SAN
The world of video games suffered a monumental loss on Saturday when Nintendo president Satoru Iwata died as a result of cancer at the age of 55. Iwata developed his reputation as a master programmer, working on classic Nintendo series and titles including Kirby, Pokémon, and Earthbound. He became Nintendo’s president in 2002 and oversaw the launch of the Wii, DS, 3DS, and more. He understood games and he understood people. When the Wii U underperformed in 2013, he cut his own pay in half in lieu of laying off Nintendo employees.
Iwata’s impact on multiple generations of video gamers cannot be understated (just look at this extensive list of games he played some role in creating). He’s responsible for millions of fond childhood memories. And while there will be many tributes to the man and his work in the coming weeks and months, Iwata already offered up the perfect summation of himself when he delivered the keynote speech at 2005’s Game Developers Conference: “On my business card, I am a corporate president. In my mind, I am a game developer. But in my heart, I am a gamer.”
— Namie くコ:彡 (@namgoreng) July 13, 2015
RIP Satoru Iwata #Nintendo pic.twitter.com/bEkFP6nDJ6
— 0rionsangel (@0rionsangel) July 13, 2015
YA YA YAS
Despite what Andre 3000 says, you should not wildly shake your Polaroid pictures along to the blissful beat of Outkast’s mega hit “Hey Ya!” (it could damage the image). Undeterred, alt-rock band Surfer Blood continues to pass along the photo-ruining message with a stripped down and summery cover of “Hey Ya!”. The song comes from Amazon Music’s upcoming compilation Amazon Acoustics, which features artists performing stripped down covers of some of their favorite tunes.
THE FORCE IS STRONG WITH THIS ONE
The first trailer for Star Wars: The Force Awakens blew everyone away. What could possibly follow that? Well at last week’s Comic-Con, J.J. Abrams delivered the perfect sequel. The new behind the scenes teaser showcases the immense level of old school detail the filmmakers are putting into the latest installment of the franchise (practical effects! real sets! Han! Leia! Luke! Chewy!). What we’re witnessing is a master class in hype-building.
THESE ARE THE DROIDS YOU’RE LOOKING FOR
Conan also got in on the Comic-Con action by taping last week’s show’s from San Diego. And as it turns out, they were assisted the entire time by lesser-known Star Wars droid R5-D4. Unfortunately, things went array when intergalactic superstar R2-D2 showed up and started rubbing his success in R5-D4’s face (or whatever the droid equivalent of a face is).
HAIR SCARE
The Simpsons doesn’t begin its 27th season this September, but apparently the show didn’t want to wait to take a shot at a certain headline-grabbing personality. Last week, The Simpsons released fantastically bizarre short that finds Homer getting lost in the “ginger ferret” that is presidential candidate Donald Trump’s hair. It’s exactly as weird as it sounds.
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